Sho
Shoichi Shin ( 正一, Shoichi) is the first half of the older Shin brothers, the main protagonists, in the Band of Brothers series created by "Stormbreaker99" on Fanfiction.net. He resides in the Sword Art Online universe and was there when the death game began. Sho and his brother Raiden were among the 10,000 players who were trapped inside. Appearence In real life, Sho is five feet ten inches tall. He has short spiky black hair typically in a buzz cut. However, if he forgets to visit the barber, which is often, his hair does get rather long. It has been compared to spiny durian. Sho's eyes are black, so black that it sometimes hides his pupil. His build is above average, being quite muscular for a kid his age. He usually wears short-sleeved t-shirts and jeans or khakis when not at school. Since he went to a more prestigious school, he had to wear a uniform complete with a tucked in dress shirt, tie, belt, and dress pants. He never liked this style of clothing and it always bothered him to be restrained and constricted. At the beginning of Sword Art Online, he starts off wearing a green short-sleeved shirt, tan pants, and black boots. On the third floor, he wears a dark green long-sleeved shirt with a matching set of dark green pants held up by a black belt with a dull black buckle. Over his shirt, he has on a brown leather vest that covered up his chest with a single strap going down from his right shoulder to his left hip. Connected to that strap was the sheath to his staff. On his feet was a pair of dark green boots. He wore black fingerless gloves with extra grip on the inside of his palms. All in all, he sported a dark green set of clothing and wielded a staff. When he reaches the twentieth floor, he acquires the Striker's Set from a global quest. This set is very much like his floor 3 outfit in the way that it is mainly green. The top piece of clothing looks like a typical kung-fu fighter's tunic. A tattered brown cape was attached to a black metal shoulder guard over his left shoulder. The decorative piece stretched from his left and whipped back down over his write. White lines bordered the tunic and a brown leather belt lay on top. The leggings were average brown pants. The bottom part of his outfit consisted of light tan pants and dark green boots. His staff sheath was attached to a strap that went from his right shoulder down to his left waist. For his end-game armor, Sho uses the Shadow Walker's set. This set is the final reward for the quest «Shadows in the Moonlight». This set consists of armor that looks like that of the Assassin's Creed franchise. The Cardinal System running SAO had specifically created this quest to mimic that series. The outfit includes a black long-sleeved shirt with an attached hood and a sort of cloth on his waist that was tied down by a belt. Black pants adorned his bottom with light leather shoes that had extended shin guards. On the outside of each pant leg, a pouch of small throwing knives lay embedded into the fabric. The hilts of the knives peeked out making his thighs look jagged. A pair of metal vambraces wrapped around his wrists, going up just before his elbow. His hands had fingerless gloves with additional grip on the inside. Two dark green straps ran from his one shoulder down to the opposite hip. The strips were connected to his body by two silvery metallic plates with a pair of decorative black wings spreading in opposite directions. The green straps held down a mottled black and gray cloak that wrapped around both sides of his body, leaving the black shirt to be revealed in the middle. It streamed out behind him and fluttered in the air as he walked. A cylindrical staff sheath was attached to the right green strap and lay over the cloak. A sword sheath lay attached to the left strap and stayed crossed in an 'x' under the staff. On his belt, he has his dagger sheath sitting horizontally on his waist with the hilt pointing to his right. To finish off his outfit, he sometimes wheres a golden masquerade mask to hide his identity. Personality Ever since he was a small child, Sho had always been the odder one of the group. He was always the first to think of something crazy, the first to jump to ideas, and the first to try those ideas out. As he got older, his mind never tempered. He remained constantly on the move, hopping from one conclusion to the next. He would discard any that were bad, any that didn't make sense, and any that didn't work. This sense of movement and curiosity pursues him throughout his adolescent years and into his teenage years. He became the "radical" among his group of friends. He didn't mind of course for it barely affected his momentum. Due to his tendency to constantly move, Sho's other senses have adapted to the speed that his mind was processing the world. His eyes became sharper and more observant, able to pick out the smallest of details. His hands and feet became quicker and he soon became ambidextrous. His intelligence increased and he became top of the grade by the end of 5th grade. However, due to his uniqueness, he lost a good number of "friends" when he reached middle school. Only a few true friends remained. That didn't bother Sho though for he kept moving forward, always keeping ahead of the curve. That was his motto: "Keep moving and don't get hit." Sho is not a social person to begin with. Sure he has friends and such, but they all lost interest of him when middle school started. He became more and more alone as his friends moved into their specific groups and niches. He was left to his own devices in the rough middle school world. It hurt him of course, but true to his identity, he kept moving forward. He would try to meet new people, but was never able to talk to them. He just didn't know how to deal with outsiders, especially girls. Girls were the worst. Sho would just stand and stare, creeping them out with his calculating look. Guys found him odd and strange. Teachers thought he was an introvert. Only his brothers knew of his other side. Sho talks in a blunt and straightforward manner. He didn't like to hide his thoughts and would usually say the first thing that came to mind. He calls things like how he sees them. This made all of his statements direct and straight to the point. He didn't fluff things up unless absolutely neccessary. Even then, he would try to find some way to say things accurately. This is a result of his fast moving mind. When something is to be done quickly, it also needs to be done accurately. Speed and accuracy went together, not speed and fluff. Even with all his awkwardness, Sho is not a bad person. He's actually very kind. As the older brother of three, he's had to watch out for his younger siblings and make sure that they never got in trouble. This means sacrificing himself and taking the blame. He didn't mind and found it rather heroic to be saving his brothers. He always tried to help younger children or new students due to his experience with isolation. Things would still get awkward, but at least he helped those in need. As a general rule, Sho never got too emotional. It just wasn't his thing. Why get sad when you can just move past it? Why slump around when you can flow through it? Only once did Sho feel down. After that, he was determined to never feel that way again. His determination is another part of his being. He didn't like to give up and certainly didn't back down. However, he did it his own way. He would step back, observe, then move back in. This strategic style of problem solving has gotten Sho out of many complicated situations, especially those that involved girls. In the end though, he always tries to be gentle and kind to others. This was shown particularly in high school when he went to a private all boys Catholic school. There, his entire life changed. He became more social and made more friends. People looked up to him and he was no longer alone. He started to be known throughout the school for his intelligence and gentleness. When someone needed help, he was there to give help. It didn't matter if they were black, white, Asian, Hispanic or even his friends. That didn't matter. Sho truly showed his colors during his first two years at high school. Halfway through his third year at a different high school, he got stuck in SAO. When Sword Art Online had started, Sho was very excited. Sho and his brother Raiden had both gotten NerveGears and started playing when the server went online. Sho had gone around with his brother and explored the mechanics of the game. He was instantly hooked. Things turned sour when Kayaba revealed the true intentions of SAO. That was when Sho made another transformation. Instead of falling apart, his mind closed its imaginary barriers, blocking out everything that didn't include survival and leveling up. He became sarcastic and harsh. His words were curt and blunt. He would completely avoid other players and only fought with his brother. He didn't like to join parties and would rather rely on his own skills. In the end, his brother was the only one he lived for. He had made a promise when the death game started. He would protect Raiden no matter what. If that meant screwing people over, then so be it. He didn't care. Isolation had taught him that much. If you didn't need people, then forget them. Usually this thought would be pushed away and repressed, but due to the desperate situations, they resurfaced and became the foremost in his mind. Nothing else mattered. It was just him and his brother. This isolationist attitude became progressively worse as time went on. Bothered by all of the events of his past, Sho reverted to an old evasive style of dealing with the world. This style involved an absolute total ignoration of anyone or anything that had no direct concern with him. It was how he dealt with the world of SAO. His mind would keep him from feeling anything, always putting him ahead of any sort of danger. It didn't care anymore. He moved around obstacles, dodged at mental attacks and slipped through the cracks of foreign assault. Not only that, Sho would get extremely paranoid and cautious. He would watch everyone with a suspicious eye. If anyone was deemed a threat, Sho would stalk that person until he was convinced otherwise. He didn't let any risk slip by. This attitude persisted for a very long time. It got even more prominent as more people entered his and Raiden's life. He didn't need more people. People brought problems, problems that Sho didn't need. It may be stupid, it may be arrogant, it may be plain illogical. But then again, you can't hurt what you can't hit. Background Sho was born into an upper-class family. His dad is a Vietnamese ex-military naval colonel and engineer. His mom is a Japanese real estate agent. Together, his parents had three children. Sho was the oldest at age 17. Raiden, age 15, was the second oldest. Finally, Kuzon, age 13, was the baby of the family. They all currently live in Japan in a well-to-do part of the country. Due to the different cultures pervading the family, the Shin brothers all know Vietnamese and Japanese. They also know English. This is due to the eleven years that the family had spent in America. Sho's dad had gotten a job working at a hydraulic damn in the United States. The family only contained three members at that time, and they had hurriedly moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. There, they lived in a rather high-class neighborhood. At this time, Sho was five years old. He had attended a good public school for his entire elementary and middle school years. He learned French, excelled at math and science and dominated anything that had to do with the left side of the brain. After eighth grade, he was sent to an all boys Catholic school. There, he made many friends. He only just finished his sophomore year when the family, now containing two more members, had moved back to Japan to take up permanent residence. It was there that he spent his junior year before getting stuck within SAO. His elementary years were fine. He had friends, but not much, especially in 5th grade. When middle school came around, he lost even more friends as they left him for other people. His elementary school was one of four in a district. For middle school, the four schools were combined into one. This quadrupled the amount of boys and girls. Nobody needed a fast-thinking guy as a friend. Everyone wanted the cool football players as their buddy. Still, Sho couldn't be kept down. That just wasn't his thing. Matters later took a turn for the worst when he hit 7th grade. He began to get bullied and get picked on. This finally reached a peak and greatly affected him. Nobody liked the fact that he was taking much higher math classes than available for a kid his age. He had to be specifically tutored by one of the teachers. He blew the standardized tests out of the water and totally demolished all of the specialty tests. In his own right, he could be considered a boy genius. His only weakness was the writing components of his curriculum. He barely maintained a 90% when it came to writing. He was good at reading and comprehension, but just didn't know how to voice his opinion. His guy friends, and even some of the girls, would joke and make fun of him, saying that all he understood were numbers and science. He only grinned and agreed. The bullying incident greatly affected him and wavered his confidence. That was his other weakspot. He couldn't stand to loose or miss points. He was okay when it came to writing, he'd already given up on anything that involved "feelings" and "emotions." He was okay with getting mocked at for being so smart, but when the bullies attacked him for being Asian and saying that he only inherited his abilities, his strength crumbled. The next few weeks found him in a slump, walking around with his head down. If it wasn't for his younger brothers, he would have stayed in his rut. The depression may have lasted longer than it did. Afterwards, Sho returned to his normal self, albeit a bit more cautious and guarded. Besides the scholarly part of his life, video games and excersise occupied his time. He was very fit and muscular for a "nerd" of his stature. That's why the bullies only attacked him with words. Anything else and they'll have broken bones and bruised ribs. Being ex-military, Sho's dad trained the boys at a young age. Starting at the age of six, his father had set up a grueling training regime for his firstborn son. He made sure that Sho was fit. Sho was able to do forty push-ups, ten pull-ups and run an entire mile without breaking a sweat. This was at the age of ten. When his younger brothers got to this age, they too were able to do the same thing. Asides from physical training, their father had also taught the Shin brothers five types of martial arts from the age of six to ten. All three boys were trained in karate, Muay Thai, jujitsu, judo, and Shaolin kung fu. A taekwondo dojang was situated near their house and their dad had signed them up for that too. If he wanted, he could've taught them. However, he wanted his sons to be able to spar others. What other ways to get into legal fights than to go to a martial arts dojang. Sho's dad had insisted that the brothers knew how to protect themselves. It was good for them to stand up to any form of physical bullying from the "crazy Americans." At the age of ten, the brothers were trained in weapons, more specifically the bo staff. Raiden had some training with a sword, but that came from their uncle. Their father would attack them with swords, knives, nunchucks, poles, baseball bats and any other weapons he could get his hands on. From ten to sixteen then, the brothers would just keep practicing, day after day, hour after hour. In that time, Sho had become an expert with the bo staff. Raiden was advanced. He had also gotten really good with the sword. The same went for Kuzon. Of the three brothers, only Sho focused on the staff. Then came the tournaments. Sho and his brothers would compete with their school against other people around the nation. Secretly, the Shin brothers began to make a name for themselves. It was only at state finals did Sho get recognized for his skill. He was in his sophomore year when he had beaten a junior from a jiujitsu school. Using a combination of the same martial art and taekwondo, Sho soundly defeated the guy and won the state title. It was at that moment that he regained his self confidence. He now had higher faith in his abilities and skills. All it took was a little win to set him straight. Junior year rolled around and Sho was all ready to go. This was considered the hardest year of high school. Sho got good grades for the first quarter of the year and spectacular grades during the second quarter. He had continued with his Forensics Debate program ever since freshman year. He'd become so good that he was now president of the society. Then the NerveGear came out. He signed up to be a beta tester along with his brother, Raiden. Raiden got the slot and he did not. Not jealous, he urged his brother to find out all he could about the game. When Sho finally tried it for himself on November 06, 2022, his entire life changes as he becomes locked away inside a virtual world. Equipment and Items Starter Equipment and Items #Iron Bo Staff #Silk Robes #Silk Leggings #Health Potions x 4 #Teleport Crystal x 1 (He doesn't wear the silk robes or the leggings) AnimeBoy15.jpg|Sho's Striker armor y6R4hCo.jpg|Staff of the Monkey King The_Sword_of_Truth_by_ozgurunlu.jpg|Shadow's Breath mens-gold-venetian-masks.jpg|Sho's golden mask Shadow Walker's Dagger.jpg|Shadow Walker's Dagger Sho's end-game spear.jpg|White Shine Spear Golden Dragon Guan Dao.jpg|Golden Dragon Guan Dao Later Weapons #Throwing knives #Defender's Staff (Floor 3 staff) #Anneal Blade (Floor 4 sword) #Staff of the Monkey King (End-game staff) #Shadow Walker's Dagger (End-game dagger) #Shadow's Breath (End-game sword) #White Shine Spear (End-game spear) #Golden Dragon Guan Dao (End-game guan dao) Later Armor 1. Striker's Set *Striker's Tunic (Floor 4) *Striker's Shoulder Guard (Floor 20) *Striker's Gauntlets (Floor 20) *Striker's Pants (Floor 20) 2. Shadow Walker's Set - Together, the set provides him with 40% more speed, 40% more stealth and 20% more attack power. *Shadow Walker's Armor (End-game) *Shadow Walker's Leggings (End-game) *Shadow Walker's Guarded Boots (End-game) *Shadow Walker's Vambraces (End-game) *Shadow Walker's Cloak (End-game) Abilities Sword Art Online (Floor 75) *'Level:' 96 *'HP:' 19000 Two-Handed Bo Staff *Javelin Toss – (1-hit strike) Throws his staff like a spear. Induces a knockback & three second stun *Diagonal Blow – (1-hit strike) A diagonal attack to the enemy's shoulder. *Lunge – (1-hit strike) A simple lunge forward. Induces a knockback strong enough to push the own user back. *Back - (1-hit strike) A mid-level skill that hits with the tip of the staff to induce a knockback. Has a 3 second cooldown. *Inner Edge - (1-hit strike) A mid-level skill that strikes at the enemy's armpit under their weapon arm, pushing up to stop the downwards attack. Checks momentum and induces a knockback. *Vault - (1-hit move) A move that uses the staff to vault over the enemy. Requires a running start and flips a good height over the enemy. *Force of a Thousand Tons – (1-hit strike) A two-handed strike that swings the staff like a baseball bat. Is a powerful attack. *End Strikes - (2-hit combo) A two hit combo striking with the ends of the staff. *Blunt Stingers – (3-hit combo) Sho holds the staff in one hand to swing to the left, then the right, and finally the left again. *Over Under - (3-hit combo) Swings the end of the staff over, takes the middle to swing under then finally finishes off with a powerful downwards blow. Induces a knockback. *Side Blows - (4-hit combo) Holding the staff in the middle, the player swings one hand left and right rapidly, dealing good damage and inducing a stun if all blows land. *Jabbing Flurry - (4-hit combo) Sho takes his staff and rains a series of jabs at the enemy, inducing a knockback every move. *Double End Strikes - (4-hit combo) A four hit combo striking with the ends of the staff. *Pointed Star - (6-hit combo) Using his staff like a spear, Sho lunges for the enemy's neck and groin. *Spinning Barrier – A defensive skill that spins his staff in a circle to form a transparent shield. The higher the skill level, the longer the barrier. Made to block projectiles. *Rounded Tip - (8-hit combo) A fast series of whirling staff smashes that targets the enemy's ribs, neck and head. . Blade Throwing *Single Shot – Throws a single charged knife. *Quad Shot – Rapidly fires off four charged knives. *Pierce – Heavily charges up a knife that can pierce the thickest of armor. Martial Arts *Shatterpoint - (1-hit strike) By tapping on a breakable object, Sho can sense its weakpoints and shatter it with a powerful blow. *Uppercut - (1-hit strike) An uppercut to the foe's chin. *Embracer – (1-hit strike) An unarmed skill that pierces the enemy with the fingers *Ligament Shred - (1-hit strike) A mid-level skill that imbues power into Sho's claw-hands. He then grips the enemy's joints and rips, causing bleed and disabling the limbs. *Charged Kick - (1-hit strike) Imbues Sho's next kick with increased energy and power. Has a short cooldown. *Charged Punch - (1-hit strike) Imbues Sho's punch with increased energy and power. Has a short cooldown. *Charged Elbow - (1-hit strike) Imbues Sho's elbow with increased energy and power. Had a short cooldown. *Charged Knee - (1-hit strike) Imbues Sho's knee with increased energy and power. Had a short cooldown. *Charged Claw - (1-hit strike) Imbues Sho's claw attack with increased energy and power. Had a short cooldown. *Whirling Feet - (4-hit combo) A mid-level skill that spins with viscious kicks. *Rising Uppercut – (5-hit combo) Starts with right punch to the face, followed by left strike. Then, Sho jabs right and left to the side of the stomach. Finally, he finishes by throwing an uppercut. *Kicking Fury - (6-hit combo) Starts with a hook kick, then a turning kick, back kick, a step-behind side kick, a jump back kick and finally a jump turning kick Quotes "You, sir, are an absolute fool." "God damn it man. You're a complete idiot!" "Orange juice is like the greatest drink ever invented. It's got orange, and juice. I mean what can be better than that?" When asked if he drinks soda: "Coke? Naw man. Coke makes me go nuts. When I go nuts, I mess things up. When I mess things up, people give me a hard time. When people give me a hard time, I hit them. When I hit them, well, let's just say that all Hell breaks loose." War cry: "For Asgard! For the Ham!" "Here, hold my juice." "Jesus flipping Christ! Your so fricking stupid." "Gah, I need a nap." "Move damn it! Don't just stand there! Get moving!" "Move and don't get hit. That's my motto." "A girl, a frying pan, and a pissy mood. I am not getting involved" 'When surrounded by enemies: '"Frick this. Frick that. Frick you. Frick him." 'When giving "comforting" advice: '"Listen to me mate. The world's a messed up place. You either step up, or get stepped on. Nothing else. Don't lose hope just 'cause things are bad. Frick, things are always bad. You just got to stand back up. Sure it sounds cliché, but don't give up. You think things are bleak now? Wait till tomorrow. They'll be even worse. But guess what? You can choose how to deal with it. Toughen up and pull out your weapon. If you're gonna go down, go down swinging. Never go down in defeat." "Girls are so confusing." "Dang it. Where are the unicorns?" 'Insults: ' #"You are a flipping banana." #"My flipping cat could kick your butt. Heck, he wouldn't even need his claws. He'll just cutiefy you to death." #"You call that an attack? That's like a little baby throwing a tantrum." #"Woah! Hold up! Let me finish my juice first God damn it! Warriors these days. They got no respect for their elders." #"Here, drink some Pepsi. You'll love it. It totally goes with your stupidity." Relationships Although cold and condescending after the start of SAO, Sho begins to slowly open up to the friendships of others. He never really wanted anything to do with them from the start. It was only from the urging of Raiden that Sho finally pursued lasting relationships with friends and finally with Iroha, his girlfriend. Sho's Relationships Pictures The picture shown to the right is courtesy of Shinjuju. You fricking rock!